Bassoon Reed Making

Christin Schillinger

Description

Withheld by leading pedagogues in an effort to control competition, the art of reed making in the early 20th century has been shrouded in secrecy, producing a generation of performers without reed making fluency. While tenets of past decades remain in modern pedagogy, Christin Schillinger details the historical pedagogical trends of bassoon reed making to examine the impact different methods have had on the practice of reed making and performance today. Schillinger traces the pedagogy of reed making from the earliest known publication addressing bassoon pedagogy in 1687 through the publication of Julius Weissenborn's Praktische Fagott-Schule and concludes with an in-depth look at contemporary methodologies developed by Louis Skinner, Don Christlieb, Norman Herzberg, and Lewis Hugh Cooper. Aimed at practitioners and pedagogues of the bassoon, this book provides a deeper understanding of the history and technique surrounding reed-making craft and instruction.

Introduction
Part I: The History of Bassoon Pedagogy
1. Pedagogic Methods 1687-1803
An Oral Tradition
The Performer/Author: Cugnier and Ozi
The Founding of the Paris Conservatoire
2. Pedagogic Methods 1803-1887
Ozi's Nouvelle méthode de basson (1803) and Fröhlich's Vollständige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule (1811)
Almenraeder's Die Kunst des Fagottblasens, oder, Vollständige theoretische praktische, Fagottschule (1843) and Jancourt's Méthode théorique et pratique pour le basson (1845)
Weissenborn's Praktische Fagott-Schule (1887)
Part II: The History of Bassoon Reed Making
3. Instrument Maker/Reed Maker
The Era of Long Lasting Reeds
Changing Demands: The Performer/Reed Maker Emerges
4. Performer/Reed Maker
Etienne Ozi: Transitional Figure
The Standardization of the Bassoon
Part III: The History of Bassoon Reed-Making Pedagogy
5. Pedagogic Methods 1687-1787
A Lineage
Cugnier's "Le Basson" (1780) and Ozi's Méthode nouvelle et raisonnée pour le bassoon (1787)
6. The Birth of Reed-Making Pedagogy
Ozi's Nouvelle méthode (1803)
7. Pedagogic Methods 1803-1843
Fröhlich's Vollständige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule (1811)
Almenraeder's Die Kunst des Fagottblasens oder Vollständige theoretisch praktische Fagottschule (1843)
8. Pedagogic Methods 1844-1887
Willent-Bordogni's Méthode complète pour le bassoon (1844) and Jancourt's Méthode theorique et pratique pour le basson (1847)
International Pedagogies
Weissenborn's Praktische Fagott-Schule (1887)
Part IV: Bassoon Reed-Making Pedagogy in Twentieth Century America
9. The Modern Era: The Secrecy of Reed Making
10. Researcher/Pedagogue: Louis Skinner
11. Reed Maker/Innovator: Don Christlieb
12. Artist/Scholar I: Norman Herzberg
13: Artist/Scholar II: Lewis Hugh Cooper
Conclusion
Appendix 1. Reed Notes: Don Christlieb (1945)
Appendix 2. Herzberg Bassoon Reed Exam
Appendix 3. Cooper's Reed Contribution System
Appendix 4. Timeline of Relevant Publications and Events in the History of Bassoon Reed Making Pedagogy
Bibliography
Notes
Index

Sujets

• Musique
• Technique musicale
• Technique musicale
• Techniques musicales
• Technique
• Instrument
• Music
• Winds
• Bassoon
• Woodwind instrument
• Pedagogy
• Multiple signal classification
• Wind instrument
• Musical instrument
• Techniques
• Musical Instruments
• Woodwinds

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 14 décembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253018236
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

BASSOON REED MAKING
BASSOON REED MAKING
A Pedagogic History
Christin Schillinger
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
2016 by Christin Schillinger
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-253-01815-1 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-01823-6 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
. . . to my students .
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. The History of Bassoon Pedagogy
1 Pedagogic Methods, 1697-1803
An Oral Tradition
The Performer/Author: Cugnier and Ozi
The Founding of the Paris Conservatoire
2 Pedagogic Methods, 1803-1887
Ozi s Nouvelle m thode de basson (1803) and Fr hlich s Vollst ndige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule (1811)
Almenraeder s Die Kunst des Fagottblasens oder Vollst ndige theoretische praktische, Fagottschule (1843) and Jancourt s M thode th orique et pratique pour le basson (1845)
Weissenborn s Praktische Fagott-Schule (1887)
Part II. The History of Bassoon Reed Making
3 Instrument Maker/Reed Maker
The Era of Long-Lasting Reeds
Changing Demands: The Performer/Reed Maker Emerges
4 Performer/Reed Maker
Etienne Ozi: Transitional Figure
The Standardization of the Bassoon
Part III. The History of Bassoon Reed-Making Pedagogy
5 Pedagogic Methods, 1697-1787
A Lineage
Cugnier s Le Basson (1780) and Ozi s M thode nouvelle et raisonn e pour le basson (1787)
6 The Birth of Reed-Making Pedagogy
Ozi s Nouvelle m thode (1803)
Ozi s Reed-Making Pedagogy
7 Pedagogic Methods, 1803-1843
Fr hlich s Vollst ndige theoretisch-praktische Musikschule (1811)
Almenraeder s Die Kunst des Fagottblasens oder Vollst ndige theoretisch praktische Fagottschule (1843)
8 Pedagogic Methods, 1844-1887
Willent-Bordogni s M thode compl te pour le basson (1844) and Jancourt s M thode theorique et pratique pour le basson (1847)
International Pedagogies
Weissenborn s Praktische Fagott-Schule (1887)
Part IV. Bassoon Reed-Making Pedagogy in Twentieth-Century America
9 The Modern Era
The Turn of the Century: 1900-1930
The Secrecy of Reed Making
10 Researcher/Pedagogue: Louis Skinner
11 Reed Maker/Innovator: Don Christlieb
12 Artist/Scholar I: Norman Herzberg
13 Artist/Scholar II: Lewis Hugh Cooper
Conclusion
Appendix 1. Reed Notes: Don Christlieb (1945)
Appendix 2. Herzberg Bassoon Reed Exam (August 16, 1991)
Appendix 3. Cooper s Reed Contribution System
Appendix 4. Timeline of Relevant Publications and Events in the History of Bassoon Reed-Making Pedagogy
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Preface
I STUDIED WITH an array of teachers. Because each performed on a different reed design with a different instrument model, I had the opportunity to observe tone concept as it relates to reed and instrument pairing. Each mentor provided a distinctive reed pedagogy. Their pedagogical differences instigated my initial interest in this field. It was when my reed making solidified that my performance abilities took shape.
Understanding the relationship of acoustics, physics, and botany as they relate to reed making provided me the impetus needed for self-reflection and adjustment in my personal reed design. With each improvement in my reeds, there followed a corresponding improvement in my performance.
Poor reeds foster bad habits. Errors in reed making require compensation in air, embouchure, support, articulation, and a variety of other means. As a pedagogue, the stronger my reed-making pedagogy, the stronger my bassoon students. Each student requires concise, comprehensive, yet personalized instruction. The research included in this book represents three hundred years of bassoonists searching for the best reeds and bassoon pedagogues investigating the best way to teach their construction.
Acknowledgments
I AM INDEBTED to many for their assistance with this book. Foremost, I appreciate the guidance and instruction of Robert Barris, Barrick Stees, Michael Kroth, Jeffrey Lyman, and Albie Micklich. Also, my students endured constant experimentation during my research for this book, and I appreciate their enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity.
Bassoon Reed Making owes much to the archived publications of the International Double Reed Society, which represent an amalgamation of the greatest minds in our field. This resource is the single greatest tool a double reed scholar could have.
The artwork is in great part due to Kristin Kieffer. I appreciate her dedication to the project.
The importance of primary sources cannot be overstated. Often translations prove inaccurate, contradictory, or incomplete. I owe gratitude to J. M. Fuzeau Editions for their facsimile reprints of historic methods and treatises. Moreover, I am grateful to the many contacts in the field who shared stories and research, read chapters, and talked reeds.
Finally, for their support in the publication of Bassoon Reed Making , I am thankful to Indiana University Press.
BASSOON REED MAKING
Introduction
R EED MAKING IS inextricably linked with modern bassoon pedagogy; however, this parameter of teaching proves exceedingly complex. In the earliest known in-depth discussion of reeds, Pierre Cugnier stresses that no scientific proportions serve as a perfect model producing consistent reeds every time. Instead, general principles exist that, with great exceptions, produce consistent reeds most of the time. Viewing reed making as an imperfect art paired with a methodical process assists in understanding the difficulty of reed-making pedagogy. How, historically, have professional bassoonists taught students such an inexact science? How have successful reed makers instructed amateurs to master a craft that may or may not yield working reeds? 1
The inconsistency of reeds first and foremost arises from their organic origin. They are made of cane: what was once living, affected by soil, water, sunshine, humidity, and barometric pressure, now affects pitch, response, timbre, and tone quality. Every piece of wood is different. The gouge that produced the perfect consistency for one reed will prove too close to the bark for the next one, providing the performer too much resistance. Acknowledgment that even a professional can never truly master reed making is a requirement on the path to becoming an excellent pedagogue.
Players are as unique as the reeds they make. The physiological sculpting of bassoonists oral cavities differs from a slight to a great degree. This results in variances in pitch center and basic sound from player to player. Consequently, a teacher s standard proportions of gouge, length, shape, profile, and wire placement may, but will probably not, be the proportions suitable for a given student. Furthermore, multiple students mean multiple proportions. A successful pedagogy of reed making, then, must be a model of flexibility and situational adaptation.
Although many articles exist on bassoon pedagogy and the science of reed making as separate entities, few have studied the pedagogy of reed making. Those that do discuss the teaching of reed making from a late twentieth-century perspective. By studying historical pedagogical trends in reed making, we, as modern pedagogues, can better assess our approach to the topic.
This book is partially derived from a synthesis of two related fields-the history of bassoon pedagogy and the history of bassoon reed making. It is therefore necessary to explore these fields before discussing the pedagogic history of reed making. Each field could, and in some cases has, generated complete tomes; however, both part I and part II of this book are intentionally cursory. The basis of Bassoon Reed Making lies in comparing how varying primary sources address reeds and reed making. Parts I and II place these sources in context. It is easier for the flow of information to provide that context in the beginning so as to not interrupt the discussion of reed-making pedagogy in parts III and IV .
Each change in the course of reed making demands a significant change in the course of reed-making pedagogy. This is discussed in depth in part III . For example, it is necessary to stress that a definitive pedagogy among performers did not exist prior to 1780, not because it had not evolved but because instrument makers manufacture of reeds made it unnecessary. The historical component of the current study traces the pedagogy of reed making from the earliest known text addressing bassoon pedagogy through the publication of Julius Weissenborn s Praktische Fagott-Schule , a method still in popular use today. This encapsulates the two-century period between 1697 and 1887.
Part IV integrates historic reed-making pedagogy with the modern age. A prodigious amount of reed-making information exists from the twentieth century. Following an era of limited sources with insufficient directions, modern makers are overwhelmed with styles, methods, and approaches. Numerous pioneers introduced new directions to the field: K. David VanHoesen, Stephen Maxym, Christopher Weait, Mark Popkin, Loren Glickman, and others contributed to a growing trend in reed-making pedagogy. The methodologies of Louis Skinner, Don Christlieb, Norman Herzberg, and Lewis Hug